Category Archives: oatmeal

Its November … Days are getting shorter & it’s getting dark much too early and even though it’s still warm in Tennessee my thoughts are going to nights by the fire and cookies! I LOVE cookies but I’ve been trying to be good and not make them very often (self protection so I don’t eat the whole batch taste testing them) but it’s November and that means thanksgiving and family and Christmas so of course you have to have cookies! So with my mind heading in that direction I got weak… I mean what could I do, I dreamt about the flavors in these cookies so I HAD to make them!

Scones, for some reason I have an irrational fear of making scones. I really am not sure why because its not like I even have much to judge scones by. The only scone I remember eating is a really dy one in an airport years and years ago. I think it is because when I look at the recipe and see the phrase “cut butter into” I panic. I am not good with a pastry blender. I make a mess….and panic…..and….. but I decided to put on my big girl panties and give scones a try. I searched and searched and finally found a recipe that was sort of kind of what I was looking for… but not exactly….so I changed the ingredients to suit my tastes and they were REALLY YUMMY!!!!!!

I added oatmeal and chocolate chips and they were surprisingly good. A bit of texture and chocolate. My daughter asked what we were having for breakfast and when I said scones she made a face, you know the teenage “What were you thinking face” (I think she wanted donuts), and then she tried one, and finished it and asked for another. Success:)) I baked half the recipe for breakfast and put the rest in the fridge for dessert. After dinner we had the second half with strawberries and ice cream, a nice alternative to shortcake. I’m still intimidated by “cut butter..” but scones, at least these scones are going to be added to my “go to” recipes. They are perfect for a sweet morning.

Combine flour, oatmeal, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.Using a pastry blender cut the butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is pebbly.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry along with the mini chocolate chips. Stir until combined.Knead about 10 times.Divide in half. Pat each half into a circle and cut each circle into 6 pieces.Place the pieces on the baking pan.

Bake 20 minutes.

NOTE: Scones may be frozen before baking, wrap individually. When baking frozen scones increase baking time for about 2 minutes.

Do you have a go to cookie recipe?That recipe that is quick, easy and yields the delicious treat you are craving?You know the one, the recipe that you make so often that you have the recipe memorized?Well these are that cookie for me.

I have made these cookies almost as long as I can remember and it seems that everyone has a version of this cookie.It is the cookie that no matter how busy I am I am willing to make when I am craving something chocolate.It is the cookie that my daughter now makes when she is craving a cookie (this is what happened yesterday, she wanted cookies and neither of us felt like making them so we made these).We call them Stovetop Cookies, but they go by many different names.They combine all that is good: chocolate, peanut butter, and oatmeal into a candy-like cookie that is made on the stovetop.Enjoy and may you have a Sweet Morning!

I was in the mood for muffins again and I’m always in the mood for chocolate chips so I mixed up these sweet little muffins.I made a batch yesterday and they were soooooooooooooo good that I made another batch today (the fact that we ate all 36 muffins might have something to do with it).

Every time I walked into the kitchen I had to try another to make sure they were alright (they were J).

They are the perfect combination of chocolate and oatmeal.A little sweet, a little chocolate, a little bit of texture.All in all just perfect to start your sweet morning.

Muffins…a sweet, sort of healthy way to start your day.Ok so they really aren’t that healthy but at least I am eating breakfast, right?And these muffins have oatmeal, wheat flour, yogurt and lemon so see there is some healthy parts to the muffins.

We have been having a big debate over how much lemon flavor is too much.These muffins are for you if you like full on, slight pucker to your mouth lemon flavor.If, like my daughter, you like a little less lemon reduce the lemon juice to ¾ cup. The oatmeal adds a welcome bit of texture to the muffins.Hope they add to your sweet morning.

Today I decided I was going to make biscotti.I’m not really sure why I decided on biscotti, I haven’t had it in years and I’m not really a fan of nuts so biscotti was an odd thing for me to fixate on.But for some reason I was determined.I found a recipe.Correction I found a LOT of recipes and none was quite right so I improvised.Instead of nuts I added oatmeal and of course I wanted chocolate and if I was having chocolate I might as well add chocolate chips.

When mixing the texture was odd, it seemed dry but what do I know I’ve never made biscotti before so I pressed on and made the logs.It smelled good when it was baking, nice and chocolate.I waited and sliced it, still crumbly and baked it again.

The pieces I snitched tasted good, nice and chocoaltey with texture.I waited and waited until they were cool and then made coffee and ate one.Interesting, it was the chocolate I wanted and it had texture from the oatmeal but I wasn’t sure.So I ate another piece and another.Then my daughter got home and I had a piece with her and she had 2J So I guess it’s not half bad since we kept going back for more. Enjoy and may your sweet morning last all day.

So the plan this year is to learn to make bread.Delicious homemade bread for my family to enjoy.I plan to work on and perfect (well probably not perfect but at least make something edible) something each week and post about it on Sunday’s (it’s a brand new year so I can have lofty goals…we will see if I follow through).Well its 2012 and Sunday so I must be posting about bread.

Since I have not started working on anything new I kinda, sorta cheated….I made a recipe in the bread machine that I have been making for years (well when I remember that I have a bread machine, and have the ingredients in the house, and start it in a timely manner).When I do make this bread it is inhaled!!!!!It is amazing warm with a meal and equally wonderful toasted for breakfast.It is slightly sweet and just delicious.Hope this recipe makes your mornings sweet!

Its another glorious hot summer morning in North Carolina. I have not needed to make a lot of new breakfasts because we had to finish up the muffins from last week and of course the weekend meant pancakes. Last weeks muffins are gone and I was hungry for something different. I of course wanted chocolate but I didn’t want any of the usual muffins so I came up with something new, oatmeal chocolate chip muffins. I was very pleased with the way they turned out! Just the right mix of texture and chocolate. These definitely are worth making again and again!! Hope they help to make your morning sweet!

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